United Parcel Service Essay

The United Parcel Service known also as the “Brown Giant” is the powerhouse in the air delivery, freight and parcel service industry. The United Parcel Service is based in Atlanta and is the world’s largest package-delivery firm. UPS delivers more than 3 billion parcels and documents per year. United Parcel Service operates 150,000 vehicles and 575 airplanes and is the dominating force in the United States ground delivery market. UPS is announcing that it’s ever expanding company with new acquisitions in the Asia/Pacific region, Latin America, and Europe. With its bureaucratic approach to the company’s management system with tight rules and regulations, and a well-defined division of labor in each plant from top to bottom is key in there success.

The company has daily worksheet to specify goals and the work output. The daily employee quotas and achievements are reported on a weekly and monthly basis. I have experienced this bureaucratic approach to management first hand as an employee at UPS. From my experience there, I have seen how the company works from the inside out. I hope to relate valuable information that I gained there in my assignment to develop and analyze the management aspects of the United Parcel Service. I will cover key issues in the basic management structure of UPS including the external factors that shape the organization of the company, recent challenges to UPS.

The United Parcel Service has taken steps to restructure itself from an operations-oriented company into a market driven industry. Recent findings suggested the need to achieve better external customer satisfaction. The steps taken were to improve the overall of all customers that utilize the services at UPS. Other key areas that need improvement are volume logistics and customer logistics. The main priority at UPS is to deliver the package on time. They provide a much-anticipated alternative to the monopoly of the United States Postal Service. This competitor has been unreliable on multiple occasions. The average customer is feed up with the inconsistencies of the United States Postal Service. Unlike this company, the United Parcel Service helped define the word efficiency. Even from the earliest days, when Jim Casey and Claude Ryan, two Seattle teens, gave life to the now world-known UPS delivery company.

“Management is the attainment of organizational goals in an effective and efficient manner through planning, organizing, leading, and controlling organizational resources.”(Management, Daft.) Throughout the years the company has continually fine-tuned its work and management effort to become an efficient giant in the package delivery industry. UPS has taken significant steps to transform itself into a market driven company with distinct customer focus. They concentrate on maintaing and building long-term customer relationships. One way of continually improving customer service for the 1.8 million people who use their services each business day, the organization run market research studies to monitor customer service. When competition began rising, UPS wanted to ensure employees would have the skills, knowledge, and the experience needed to perform well in increasingly complex jobs.

The company wanted its employees to be prepared for upcoming higher standards in the customer service department. ” The satisfaction of our customers is the number one priority at work.” Says Janice Gearhart, a current UPS employee. Communication with loyal customers is conducted on a rotating basis. Telephone interviews are a direct route to evaluating market fluctuations. The mission statement expresses the dedication to customer care. “UPS is not just in the delivery business but to develop technology that will allow UPS to continue introducing new services, to provide customers with comprehensive information about shipping and provide training to all employees.”

The new more structured system on quality assurance allows business development to work more closely with the sales people to resolve customer problems. With the current improvements, the employees have a new sense of purpose. Employee moral is at an all time high. They can now see a clear link between the work they do and the end result. All of these improvements compliment the service level. Other methods of improvement are also available. At United Parcel Service, a new career development system helps managers shape their career plans. This helps ensure a promising future for the shipping company and it’s employees. UPS’s 285,000 employees in 185 nations and territories worldwide operate a system that makes use of highly-reliable electric tracking technology to ensure the timely pickup and delivery of every thing from business

documents to seasonal gifts. This expansive melting pot of cultures has lead to many accolades in the package service. The employees are the company’s’ most valuable assets. They share a sense our ownership because they are offered stock options. United Parcel Service has recently been awarded one of Fortune magazine’s ” Diversity Elite 50 Best Companies for African American, Asians, and Hispanics. In addition, Fortune also recognized “United Parcel Service as the World’s Most Admired Global Mail, Package, and Freight Delivery Company.” (Leibowitz, 1999.) These accomplishments have led to better customer satisfaction, employee happiness, and overall success. This company is making a smooth transition to the future. Many goals were set for the new millennium. One goal set by the development department was to identify and apply new technology that would improve existing operations and develop new business. They also assist in the creation of the business plan and provide customized services and solutions to their internal and external organizational managers. Initial steps began when new competitors started to carve niches into many of the companies profitable areas.

One interesting quote taken from John A. “Jack” Duffy” Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy is “Industry leadership and growth are contingent upon anticipating customer needs and market dynamics long before they occur; and then aligning our organization accordingly.” While the company’s service performance and productivity were still high, it’s management began asking serious questions, not just about how well they were doing, but whether they were going to be able to continue dominating the market. ” Technology camouflages size. It allows the small to look big-and the big to act small. It also allows UPS to treat each package as if it were the only one we handle.” (Michael L. Eskew: Vice Chairman and Executive Vice President.) The advances in industrialism have let UPS aspire to its goals.

Global alliances are extremely valuable assets. They compliment the companies core desire for customer satisfaction. Their global brand is recognized. This helps make us a household name. With technology advances, the technological capabilities are advanced. Low costs are another reason that their customers keep coming back. The growth strategy chosen by management is working. It is designed to take advantage of their competitive strengths while maintain the focus on meeting or exceeding customer requirements. A variety of online services help customers track a package easily. Upper management is impressed with the progress. The company spends 1 billion dollars annually on technology.

” Information technology is the centerpiece of our strategy going forward”, says UPS chairman and CEO James P. Kelly. United Parcel Service has a 93 year-old history that has branched smoothly into the Internet generation. Important areas of concentration include electronic commerce, automatic shipping, and matters concerning the Internet. The Internet is so important to UPS’s success strategy that greater spending allowances are made for technology than most other concerns. Today, the competition is only a click away. It is more important than ever to be responsive to paying customers. Those too lazy to go out will find the electronic tracking of great assistance. UPS recognizes the potential of the Internet and is looking forward to expanding its global commerce.

E-commerce, which defines as the use of networked computer technology to facilitate the buying and selling of goods and services. United Parcel Service sets up to impress its customers, not just satisfy the expected high quality service. “We recognized a long time ago that the information regarding the shipment, the information about the goods, about the customer, about what’s in the merchandise that’s being transported; is really as important as the transportation itself. ” Kelly says, echoing the sediments of several of his corner office peers in the industry. The financial strengths of this company are continually growing. UPS is one of the few companies, and the only transportation services with a Triple-A credit rating from both Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s.

This rating as well as many others factors have lead to the success of the United Parcel Service. The current status of the company reflects the strength of the their competitive position. The leaders of the current which include James Kelly, Michael L. Eskew, and John A. Duffy have set an example for anyone who is interested in management as a career. Their tactical maneuvers are first rate. This company succeeded because of the drastic communication advances. The customer is ultimately satisfied with the reliability of UPS to deliver on time. This is the marketing factor that sets UPS a step above the competition All decisions were made in the respect that the company would continue to bring the customer more than they expected. In turn United Parcel Service is an extremely profitable corporation. The environment provided by UPS keeps customers, employees, and managers working hard to keep up the high standards set by todays’ customers.

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